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The price is too high is an objection that is as old has humanity itself. If you think hard enough, I’m sure you can see the ancient Egyptians walking around an outdoor marketplace haggling with sellers using this very objection. And if you think even harder, you can probably envision weak sellers dropping their prices to make a sale. Things haven’t changed much in four thousand years, have they?

The good news is that today there are a variety of proven ways to handle this age old objection. The most obvious way is to see it for it often is: a smokescreen hiding either a real objection or an attempt to haggle and have you to cave in and give a better price. In either of these situations the technique is to isolate the objection first and see what other stalls they come up with are before you negotiate price. You’ll see examples of these below.

The following rebuttals are broken down into two groups: One set of rebuttals are for business to consumer sales – things like investments, insurance, home remodel, etc., and the other are for business to business. In B to B, the objection often manifests more as a “budget” problem, but many times companies are looking for the best deal as well and so will still try to haggle on price with you.

Below are ten new ways to handle both types of price/budget objections. Pick the ones you’re most comfortable with, then make them your own and practice them until they become automatic. Given the frequency of this objection, you’ll be much more confident once you know how to handle it:

Business to consumer rebuttals:

“The price is too high – I can’t afford that”

Response One:

“I completely understand, and let’s face it – we all have to work within a budget. But there is always a difference between a purchase and an investment. With a purchase, the value usually goes down, so regardless of what you spend – whether you can afford it or not – it’s never going to appreciate or justify its value.

But with an investment – like this is – what you spend always justifies itself and ends up either saving you money in the long run or paying for itself month after month. And it always makes sense to invest in yourself, don’t you agree?”

[If Yes]

“Then here’s what I recommend we do…”

Response Two:

“I definitely hear what you’re saying, but let’s take the price out of this for a moment and let me ask you: besides price, what other reasons do you have for not moving forward with this today?

[Note: I know that’s a negative response, but given that you are trying to isolate the objection and uncover any others, in this case it’s recommended.]

OR

“I understand and let me ask you: if price weren’t an issue on this – in other words, if this were more in alignment with what you could pay, is this something you would move forward with today?”

[If Yes]

“Great! Then tell me, where could you get the money from for this?”

Response Three:

“__________, you’ve probably heard that expression ‘Other people’s money,’ right? Well the good news with this is that you can use other people’s money to purchase it and begin enjoying the benefits right now! We have two ways for you to do that:

You can either put this on a credit card and make whatever payments you can until it’s paid off, or you can take advantage of our introductory offer where you can put no money down and make interest free payments for as long as 18 months!

In the meantime, you get to (start enjoying/the benefit/the protection) of this (service or product) from day one! Which of those two options do you like better?”

Response Four:

“Now _________, for this investment – as with every other – you always have to ask yourself: what is working for me now and what could be working harder? Like all of us, I’m sure you’ve got some stocks or funds that haven’t performed quite as you’d have wished, don’t you?

Well this is your chance to move those under performing investments around and put your money to work for you in a vehicle that can not only help you make up for lost time, but exceed some of your better producing investments.

What comes to mind now that wouldn’t mind putting to better use for you?”

Response Five:

“You know, you said something very important – you said that the price is too high. I’d really like to work with you on this, so help me to understand – what exactly are you comparing this price to?”

Business to business rebuttals:

“The price is too high – We don’t have the budget for it”

Response One:

“You’re right, and I know we’re not the cheapest out there – and it’s important that you heard that right – we’re not the “cheapest” service on the market. And there’s a very important reason for that: The quality that you get with us goes far beyond the few extra dollars you’ll invest today, and let me tell you the top three reasons why….”

Response Two:

“And that’s exactly why we offer our introductory package. Here’s the thing: we’re so convinced that you’ll come to appreciate the added services and value we offer that as soon as you begin using our service, you’ll forget all about the small initial cost.

In fact, you’ll find that in the long run our (product or service) is not only affordable, but it saves you time AND makes you money. And that’s something you’re interested in doing, isn’t it?”

Response Three:

“_________, if you really think about this from a business perspective, you’ll soon see that this is actually something that you can’t afford NOT to do, and let me tell you why: If you don’t put this (product or service) to work for you, while you may save a bit of money today, you’ll be losing money tomorrow in terms of (lost revenues, cost overruns, lost sales and opportunities, etc.). As a business, you just can’t afford to keep doing that.

So here’s what I recommend: Do what all businesses do: Finance this. Put it on your business credit card and make payments, write off the interest, and all the while, begin profiting from the extra business and market share this will bring you. When you’re ahead, just pay off the card and keep the profits from this! Let’s go ahead and do this….”

Response Four:

“You know, a lot of business owners (V.P.’s, etc.) at first think this is an expense, but think again: if it helps to bring you more business, and/or helps you keep the clients and customers you already have, then it becomes an investment in your success, doesn’t it? And that’s how all successful companies grow – they invest in their business.

And that’s what you have the opportunity to do right now. So let’s get you started…”

Response Five:

“I hear you _________, and let’s just say that I could wave a magic wand and get you the money (or reduce the price to where it would fit within your budget). Level with me: what other reasons would you have for not at least considering putting this to work for you today?”

[Now listen for the real objection and deal with it appropriately]

So now you have ten new ways of handling the price objection. Make sure and listen for what the real objection is and then use the right script to overcome it.

If you found this article helpful, then you'll love Mike's Completely Updated and Revised eBook, “The Complete Book of Phone Scripts.” Now over 130 pages of powerful and effective scripts to help you easily get past the gatekeeper, set appointments, overcome objections and close more money!

The price is too high is an objection that is as old has humanity itself. If you think hard enough, I’m sure you can see the ancient Egyptians walking around an outdoor marketplace haggling with sellers using this very objection. And if you think even harder, you can probably envision weak sellers dropping their prices to make a sale. Things haven’t changed much in four thousand years, have they?

The good news is that today there are a variety of proven ways to handle this age old objection. The most obvious way is to see it for it often is: a smokescreen hiding either a real objection or an attempt to haggle and have you to cave in and give a better price. In either of these situations the technique is to isolate the objection first and see what other stalls they come up with are before you negotiate price. You’ll see examples of these below.

The following rebuttals are broken down into two groups: One set of rebuttals are for business to consumer sales – things like investments, insurance, home remodel, etc., and the other are for business to business. In B to B, the objection often manifests more as a “budget” problem, but many times companies are looking for the best deal as well and so will still try to haggle on price with you.

Below are ten new ways to handle both types of price/budget objections. Pick the ones you’re most comfortable with, then make them your own and practice them until they become automatic. Given the frequency of this objection, you’ll be much more confident once you know how to handle it:

Business to consumer rebuttals:

“The price is too high – I can’t afford that”

Response One:

“I completely understand, and let’s face it – we all have to work within a budget. But there is always a difference between a purchase and an investment. With a purchase, the value usually goes down, so regardless of what you spend – whether you can afford it or not – it’s never going to appreciate or justify its value.

But with an investment – like this is – what you spend always justifies itself and ends up either saving you money in the long run or paying for itself month after month. And it always makes sense to invest in yourself, don’t you agree?”

[If Yes]

“Then here’s what I recommend we do…”

Response Two:

“I definitely hear what you’re saying, but let’s take the price out of this for a moment and let me ask you: besides price, what other reasons do you have for not moving forward with this today?

[Note: I know that’s a negative response, but given that you are trying to isolate the objection and uncover any others, in this case it’s recommended.]

OR

“I understand and let me ask you: if price weren’t an issue on this – in other words, if this were more in alignment with what you could pay, is this something you would move forward with today?”

[If Yes]

“Great! Then tell me, where could you get the money from for this?”

Response Three:

“__________, you’ve probably heard that expression ‘Other people’s money,’ right? Well the good news with this is that you can use other people’s money to purchase it and begin enjoying the benefits right now! We have two ways for you to do that:

You can either put this on a credit card and make whatever payments you can until it’s paid off, or you can take advantage of our introductory offer where you can put no money down and make interest free payments for as long as 18 months!

In the meantime, you get to (start enjoying/the benefit/the protection) of this (service or product) from day one! Which of those two options do you like better?”

Response Four:

“Now _________, for this investment – as with every other – you always have to ask yourself: what is working for me now and what could be working harder? Like all of us, I’m sure you’ve got some stocks or funds that haven’t performed quite as you’d have wished, don’t you?

Well this is your chance to move those under performing investments around and put your money to work for you in a vehicle that can not only help you make up for lost time, but exceed some of your better producing investments.

What comes to mind now that wouldn’t mind putting to better use for you?”

Response Five:

“You know, you said something very important – you said that the price is too high. I’d really like to work with you on this, so help me to understand – what exactly are you comparing this price to?”

Business to business rebuttals:

“The price is too high – We don’t have the budget for it”

Response One:

“You’re right, and I know we’re not the cheapest out there – and it’s important that you heard that right – we’re not the “cheapest” service on the market. And there’s a very important reason for that: The quality that you get with us goes far beyond the few extra dollars you’ll invest today, and let me tell you the top three reasons why….”

Response Two:

“And that’s exactly why we offer our introductory package. Here’s the thing: we’re so convinced that you’ll come to appreciate the added services and value we offer that as soon as you begin using our service, you’ll forget all about the small initial cost.

In fact, you’ll find that in the long run our (product or service) is not only affordable, but it saves you time AND makes you money. And that’s something you’re interested in doing, isn’t it?”

Response Three:

“_________, if you really think about this from a business perspective, you’ll soon see that this is actually something that you can’t afford NOT to do, and let me tell you why: If you don’t put this (product or service) to work for you, while you may save a bit of money today, you’ll be losing money tomorrow in terms of (lost revenues, cost overruns, lost sales and opportunities, etc.). As a business, you just can’t afford to keep doing that.

So here’s what I recommend: Do what all businesses do: Finance this. Put it on your business credit card and make payments, write off the interest, and all the while, begin profiting from the extra business and market share this will bring you. When you’re ahead, just pay off the card and keep the profits from this! Let’s go ahead and do this….”

Response Four:

“You know, a lot of business owners (V.P.’s, etc.) at first think this is an expense, but think again: if it helps to bring you more business, and/or helps you keep the clients and customers you already have, then it becomes an investment in your success, doesn’t it? And that’s how all successful companies grow – they invest in their business.

And that’s what you have the opportunity to do right now. So let’s get you started…”

Response Five:

“I hear you _________, and let’s just say that I could wave a magic wand and get you the money (or reduce the price to where it would fit within your budget). Level with me: what other reasons would you have for not at least considering putting this to work for you today?”

[Now listen for the real objection and deal with it appropriately]

So now you have ten new ways of handling the price objection. Make sure and listen for what the real objection is and then use the right script to overcome it.

If you found this article helpful, then you'll love Mike's Completely Updated and Revised eBook, “The Complete Book of Phone Scripts.” Now over 130 pages of powerful and effective scripts to help you easily get past the gatekeeper, set appointments, overcome objections and close more money!

About Mike Brooks

Mike Brooks, Mr. Inside Sales, works with business owners and inside sales reps nationwide teaching them the skills, strategies and techniques of Top 20% performance. It started for Mike in 1987 after a failed attempt to own and operate a nightclub. He had just blown every dime he had, maxed out every… more